The Things Isabelle Black Puts Up With
by Mariolka
Summary: It's been eight months since I've last been in The Wizarding World. I was sent to Phoenix to then be sent Forks so I could recruit a coven of Vampires. Things were coming along fine . . . but then they left. So, I do what anyone else in my place would, I come back to Hogwarts, perfectly content with never seeing them again. Sadly, Dumbledore doesn't seem to have gotten that memo.
1. Chapter 1

**The Things Isabelle Black Puts Up With:**

**Unexpected:**

I watched as Edward sped of into the forest. He left me. Boy's got guts, let us hope no one actually finds out he dumped me in the middle of a forest, especially Mrs. Weasley. Good thing I'm not emotional about such things. I have a feeling that Isabella Swan would be in deep depression right now, but Isabelle Anastasia Black refuses to sink that low and let a man be the center of her universe. I've already been there.

Besides, I have bigger things to deal with like, oh I don't know, the crazed serial killing wizard by the name of Voldemort. Or Voldy as I call him, hey, he already wants to kill me, I see no reason not to give him a nickname that he would inevitably hate if he knew about it.

I sighed, now to get out of this forest. I looked around me.

Which way is Charlie's house?

Howl.

Please tell me there are no werewolves here. Real werewolves, those animagi I can deal with as long as I have my wand.

I searched through my pockets, it should be here somewhere.

Another howl.

I checked again. Nothing. Come on! I've never been outside Charlie's house without my wand, now that I actually need it.

Scratch that.

Where's my over-protective vampire when I need him.

"Edward!" My pride is shattered, I'm actually calling for him to help me, "Edward! Get back here!" Next time save my life before you go of galloping off into the forest, it will be much **appreciated**.

Another howl.

I squealed, and started running in the general direction of the house. _Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why didn't you memorize the way back? _

_Because I was with Edward, and never felt like I was going to need it._

_Fat lot of luck that did you._

"Shut up!" I said, and then realized I was fighting with myself. Talk about at war with yourself

I kept running until I tripped. I tried to get up, but pain shot up from my ankle and I fell back down. You've got to be kidding me. Why am I always getting a sprained ankle in the forest?

If I ever meet Voldy alone in the forest, I'm a goner.

I sighed. Stupid vampire, leaving me in my time of need. _What perfect timing he has, _I thought as I picked up a clump of dirt, threw it, and crossed my arms over my child. I'll admit I looked a bit like a pouty child.

"Stupid bipolar vampire." I said, "other than being able to read people well as a human, he must've also had multiple personality disorder. To think, I actually started to fall for him." I laid down on the grass. The sun was still high in the sky. I wonder how long it would take for Charlie Swan to start looking for me. He fits the father role pretty well, he should be starting to panic right about now.

. . . .. .. .. . . .

I woke up to the sound of voices. I looked up. Sam Uley was carrying me, his attention diverted to who ever was in front of him.

"She's okay, just a few scratches and a sprained ankle." He said as he put me down in a chair. After that, I blocked everything out. Hey! I was still tired. I was vaguely aware that Charlie, and Billy Black was there.

"Come on Bells." I heard Charlie say, "we're going home." I nodded.

"Thanks for finding me." I said.

"No problem." Sam said. I nodded politely, and then followed Charlie outside. I got into the police cruiser, and Charlie took the other side. I frowned. Not because I was in a police cruiser which would get a lot of attention, I just hated cars. I grew up in a pureblood family, and we never used cars very much. Only when we had to, Mrs. Weasley - or mom - says that it pollutes the air too much.

"You sure you're okay, Bella?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah." I said. No, no, no, I sound so unconvincing. Like a broken-hearted teenager, which I probably am deep down. Deep, deep down.

"Does this have something to do with Cullen?" He asked through gritted teeth. I rolled my eyes, he's even protective like a dad.

"Sort of, he moved." I said, unemotionally. Ha ha! I can control my voice and face again.

"Without telling you?" He asked, gripping the steering wheel tightly. Eesh, better calm him down before he rips the thing out.

"No, he told me. It's okay though. I never really liked him that much." I silently cursed myself, _Never liked him that much. That's like the most used line when in denial after a break-up._

"Well, why were you so deep in the forest?" He asked. Curses! Here comes the interrogation.

"I lost my way." I said.

"He left you in a forest!" He shouted, "Dumbledore's going to kill me." Dumbledore had trusted him to keep me safe.

"We've been there lots of times, he probably thought I knew the way." I said. He nodded stiffly. We came to a stop in front of the house. I scanned the house, and my eyes stopped on a flying object in front of my window.

No. Wait, that's an owl. Oh my god. That's not just an owl, that's Nightwind, Tonks' owl. Thank god it's dark outside, she blends in almost perfectly.

I got out of the car, and walked to the door. As soon as I stepped inside I ran upstairs, and opened the little window.

"Nightwind!" I hissed, and motioned for her to come in. She seemed weary. Then I remembered that my appearance was altered. I rolled my eyes, you'd think Night wind would recognize me, none of my facial features are different, and he's supposed to have an amazing memory.

I stepped back a bit, and changed back to my original appearance. My brown hair turned black, and my eyes turned grey. Many people thought I looked exactly like my mother in terms of physical appearance, something I took as a compliment, but in terms of coloring I was all Dad.

"Better?" I asked the owl, it looked at me with calculating gold eyes - which looked frighteningly like those of the Cullens - and nodded once in approval. She flew in, and landed on my desk. A letter was attached to it's leg, I quickly took it off - as quickly as you can when you're possibly one of the clumsiest people in the world - and gave the owl a treat. Poor thing must've been tired, it's a pretty long flight from London.

The owl took off, and I looked down at the letter in my hand. It was from Tonks.

I opened it, and read it to myself;

_**Dear Izzy, **_

_**I'm losing my sanity, and I'm not even in Azkaban.**_

_**You can blame everyone else for that. They've been worrying**_

_**since the day you left. It really is tiring acting all mature all the time. Remus,**_

_**and I have to keep everyone under control. Harry, Hermione, and Ron are**_

_**thinking of going after you. Endearing, isn't it? You really do have the most amazing**_

_**friends - myself included. However, it is quite annoying. Now, on to the good news,**_

_**Dumbledore says you're going to be able to come back in a week! Thank god, I**_

_**don't know how much more of this I can take.**_

_**Love, Tonks.**_

_**P.S. Even if Dumbledore decides you shouldn't come back soon, come anyways,**_

_**be a rebel.**_

I shook my head. Tonks was still the same, and she still calls me Izzy, no matter how many times I threaten her. Wait! A week.

My mouth fell open, my eyes widened, and I'm sure I would've squealed like an idiot if I wasn't in a state of shock. I'm going home! In one week! Right now, I'd be doing a victory dance, but I'm not because I have some coordination problems.

. . . . . . .

It has been three hours, and I'm incredibly miserable. It's like something's missing. Edward, perhaps? It's quite lonely without him, even though it's a bit of a relief as well. Without him watching me with an amazingly watchful eye, I was able to let my English side and my rather big attitude show.

"Well, there's one good effect that comes from being dumped by your vampire boyfriend." I said, my accent coming out once more. It felt good to talk normally again.

"Bella." Charlie said, "there's a letter from Dumbledore." At that I think I actually squealed, and then ran down the stairs at a speed that could rival Edward's. Okay, I may be exaggerating there, just a little bit.

I also might've ripped the letter out of his hand. Not that you can blame me. This may be the letter that said, _'Dear Bella, you can come home now. Oh, and I admit that sending you to the vampires for this insipid little quest was extremely stupid.'_ Oh, the very thought was exhilarating. I ripped the envelope up, and took the piece of parchment, and read it intently.

_**Dear Isabelle Black,**_

_**I am pleased to inform you that your little stay with the Cullens**_

_**is coming to an end. I should hope that your quest has not been all in**_

_**vain. There will be someone coming to get you in approximately four days.**_

_**I am sure everyone will be delighted to see.**_

_**Sincerely, Professor Albus Dumbledore.**_

Four days! That's even less than a week. Though I would rather go back today. I miss everyone terribly. Even Draco. He's a jerk to everyone, but he's my cousin so I can't hate him like everyone else does, I can only dislike him very deeply. Yeah, I'm a family person.

I suppose I should start packing my bags today.

"From that expression, I take it you're allowed to go home." Charlie said, I nodded excitedly. I admit that if the letter had come a couple days earlier, I wouldn't have been so excited, but now that Edward and his family are out of my life, going back to England is the best thing for me. Back to real friends. I'm sorry, but the kids from Forks High are just so . . . so . . . annoyingly selfish.

"Thanks Charlie," I said gratefully. "For everything.

"No problem kid." He said.

...

_**A/N: My first Twilight/Harry Potter fanfic. I know Bella's incredibly OOC, but I just wanted her to be more independent. She does like Edward, a lot in fact even though she'd never admit it, but he's not the center of her entire universe. So what did you think? I know it's a common idea that Bella goes back to Hogwarts after Edward leaves her in New Moon, but I'll try and make it a bit different. **_

_**I hope you liked this chapter, and I hope you review as well.**_


	2. The Burrow

**The Things That Isabelle Black Puts Up With:**

**Back To The Burrow:**

I packed my the last of my things. My hand stopped at the picture of Cedric. Cedric and I had known each other since my first year. We started out as friends, him being a bit like a protective older brother, but in our fourth year something had changed and we became a kind of couple. He and Harry both had been picked to participate in the Triwizard Tournament which shouldn't have been possible because only seventh years were allowed in the competition, and Harry was a fourth year. Also, according to Harry, he hadn't put his name in the cup.

I took a closer look at the picture, he looked so much like Edward. Or rather Edward looked so much like him. Before Edward had told me his back story I had actually wondered if . . . maybe he was Cedric. It was a false hope, but I was still recovering from Cedric's death. Initially, I didn't like Edward, I thought him to be overly dramatic and just a little creepy - hey he did follow me, and sneak into my room at night without my knowing - but eventually I warmed up to him. I saw that he really did have the best intentions. He may be a bit over-protective, but then again I was a mere muggle to him.

I didn't really understand. Why did he leave? My feelings were hardly as deep as I pretended they were, but Edward has no reason to pretend like that. He was either a major jerk or lying to keep me safe. I'll just go with Option A. It's not like I really care anyway.

"Look at this place, it's so clean." I heard a wonderfully familiar voice, "How ever did Izzy live through this." Seriously?

"Don't call me Izzy," I hissed.

"Izzy!" She squealed, and pulled me in for a hug. God, it's no use. I am forever Izzy to Tonks.

"Good to see you Belle." There we go, Remus knows what my real name is. I got the name when I first watched Disney's _Beauty and the Beast_. It had been my favorite, and since my name was Isabelle, I decided that I could change it to Belle. Of course, some people refuse to acknowledge the fact.

"Remi!" Okay, before you call me a hypocrite, in my defense Remus is totally okay with his nickname. His awesome nickname mind you.

I let go of Tonks, and hugged him.

"How long have we been gone?" Tonks asked him, looking around the room for a clock.

"About five minutes." Remus said, and said, "we better go, don't want Molly getting another panic attack." Tonks nodded whole-heartedly, and a wave of understanding went through them. I hate it when they do that. I hate it when everyone does that. How come everyone can do that except me?

"Shall we go?" Tonks asked, offering her arm.

"Definitely." I said, and took her arm. We dissapparated, and all I could think of was _'god please don't let me fet sick again'_.

Everything was a blur, and then it cleared up, and I didn't get sick. Thank-you divine intervention.

I looked up at the most brilliant house I've ever known; the Burrow. The Cullens got nothing on the Weasleys. The Weasleys have got gnomes in their garden, which are annoying and have a bigger vocabulary of swear words than Harry, Hermione, Ron, and I combined - though I think it might be the twins faults - but at the same time they're magical creatures so of course they give the Burrow some points.

Then I looked down and saw people coming from the extraordinary house. Harry was in the lead, followed by Hermione and Ron, which were then followed by the twins and Ginny. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley stood at the doorway and watched on happily.

Yeah, this totally be a happy reunion, if it didn't look so much like an ambush.

Harry reached me, and wrapped me in a hug. He had grown taller over the past eight months, but his black hair was still untamed and messy.

"Blimey, Belle, I thought those vampires weren't going to let you leave." He said. Even though Harry was only a day older than me, he acted as if he was my biologically older brother. extremely protective, not Edward protective where he stalks me just to make sure I was alright and then kills the people who try to kill me, no Harry's protective is much less violent. Harry protective is hexing the person who is being mean to me, and occasionally standing up for me when I can't find something to say - which is rare. However I think Ron and Hermione wouldn't hesitate to stand up for me too, but they never would've hexed Malfoy just for being Malfoy.

"Ye of little faith." I teased, "it takes more than a couple of blood-thirsty vampires to bring me down." I let him go, and just as quickly got the wind knocked out of me by Hermione when she hugged me.

"I thought we were going to have to come after you, honestly whatever was Dumbledore thinking, sending you to such a dangerous place." She said as she crushed the life out of me. I believe a worried or angry Hermione is ten times more dangerous than the Cullens, James, Victoria, Voldy and all his death eaters. I wish she'd hug Voldy, then he'd be the one getting the life crushed out of him and our job would be done.

"Hermione - can't breath - ribs cracking - and you're - invading - my personal space." I wheezed. Hermione quickly realized, and let go of me. Edward said once that I wouldn't be able to survive one of his hugs if he used his full strength, but I can hardly see his hugs getting anywhere nearly as strong as Hermione's. It was kind of scary.

"Oh god, sorry." She apologized.

"It's - okay." I said, trying to catch my breath, "I'm still alive, so it's okay." And then I found myself in another hug. Oh I see now, they're trying to crush me to death. I'll have you know that my leaving was all Dumbledore's fault!

"God, Ron, I said I was alive but if you all keep hugging me like this I'll die from suffocation." I said. Though he was much gentler than Hermione, I still had a hard time breathing.

"Izzybelle!" The twins had finally reached us, Ginny close behind. Oh joy, here comes the second round. Be brave Belle. Close your eyes, if you can't see them, they can't hurt you. Or something like that.

"Ow!" I said as the twins pulled me in for a group hug, purposefully crushing me for the third time today. Except they were doing it on purpose.

"Fred, George, let the poor girl breathe." Ginny scolded. The twins let me go, and I took in a deep breath. Good thing to know Ginny's got them under control. Only because Angry Ginny is not a Nice Ginny. No, angry Ginny is scary Ginny. We saw that a couple times in loud crowds and Quidditch tryouts.

"Woah, Belle you're red." Ginny said.

"You can thank your brothers and Hermione for that. Honestly, Harry's the only one who knows how to hug people without nearly killing them in the process." I was snarky, I know. And then Ginny hugged me too.

She's hugging me. Why is she hugging me? I just went into a whole rant about how I was nearly killed by hugging.

"Okay, I think that's enough." Remus said, amusement lacing his tone. Tonks was biting her lip trying not to laugh. My hero.

Ginny let me go, and we all followed Tonks and Lupin to the entrance. To Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Please, please, please don't hug me.

They seemed to understand, but that didn't stop Mrs. Weasley from critisizing my weight, and generally being the motherly figure her instincts have always told her to be.

"Oh, my dear, you look so thin. Why you're only skin and bones. Has that Swan been feeding you at all." Mrs. Weasley tsked disapprovingly, "come now, we were just sitting down to dinner."

She ushered us all inside, and immediately the scent of pasta hit me.

"I made your favorite, ravioli." Mrs. Weasley said.

"Really?" I squealed. Mrs. Weasley nodded, and laughed.

We sat down at the kitchen table. I sat between Harry and Hermione while Ron sat in between Fred and George . . . poor guy.

Mrs. Weasley put out the food, and then sat down herself.

We ate, and I pretty much blocked out everything that was being said. I'm starting to think it's involuntary.

I took my stuff - which had been brought in by Lupin - upstairs to my usual room which I shared with Hermione sometimes. I crashed down on my bed, I hadn't realized how tired I was.

I heard footsteps, and then my door close. I turned over to see Ron, Harry, and Hermione.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, I'm absolutely fine." I said.

"Then what's that mark on your hand." You've got to be kidding me. How did she notice? I've only been at the Burrow for an hour. She's got eyesight to match the Cullens.

"I fell." I said. Hermione gave me a don't-you-dare-defy-me look before raising her hand. I knew she would do that, I also knew that if I didn't obey she would ger suspicious. It's a lose-lose situation.

So I put my hand in hers, and she inspected the bitemark on my wrist.

"A bitemark." Hermione confirmed, "vampire, obviously, it's a bit colder and paler than the skin around it." And that's part of the reason you always have to be vigilant when you have a friend like Hermione. You slip up, and she deducts the rest. Good thing none of the Cullens are like that, I had accidentally slipped into my English accent quite a few times, but they didn't seem to notice - which I'm sure they did, but they never paid it any mind.

"Was it them?" Harry asked.

"No." I said, "I ran into some . . . trouble in Forks."

"Another vampire." Hermione guessed. I nodded, the images of that night flitting behind my eyes.

"I was okay though." I said, "the others got to me on time. They got rid of the tracker."

"The what?" Harry asked. I looked at Hermione, knowing she could explain it better than I can. I honestly knew close to nothing about trackers.

Hermione nodded, and lapsed into Teacher Mode, "A tracker is a vampire that is able to locate the position and movements of their target by supernatural means. They hardly ever fail a mission, they're incredibly good at what they do."

I snickered, "they weren't expecting the Cullen Coven to actually kill them."

"Cullen?" Ron asked.

"Yes." I said cautiously.

"That's weird, Dumbledo -." He was cut off when Hermione hit him over the head.

"Dumbledore what?" I asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Um . . . nothing." He said unconvincingly. I kept my eyes on him, but let it go. I'm not one to pry, you know, usually.

Then, Fred and George barged in without knocking, Ginny behind them.

"Okay, we're all together now, you can tell us what happened when you were hanging out with bloodsucking vampires while _we _were stuck here." Fred said.

"Which was very boring." George added.

"Yeah, you should've brought us with you." Fred teased.

"It was really quite rude of you, leaving us here to fend for ourselves."

"Okay!" Ginny said, "let her actually start the story." Her attention turned to me, "you don't have to tell us anything you don't want to." Hermione and Harry nodded in agreement, though I knew they would rather I just told them the whole story while the twins groaned in disappointment.

And so began my recap of what happened in Forks. I left out the fact that Edward left me in a forest because he had never loved me, instead saying that he believed the journey they were going on was way to harsh for a human. No need to get my friends involved in the Dark Arts.

I also left out the fact that my relationship with Edward was a little bit more than just platonic friendship. For one, Hermione would've told me that starting a romantic relationship with someone - a vampire nonetheless - in such a small amount of time was irrational, Hermione's not a strong believer in Love At First Sight. Of course then I'd tell her it was an act, and she'd tell me that I shouldn't have done that because if Edward ever found out, he'd be angry, and when vampires are angry they're unpredictable.

"I swear, you are the most danger-prone girl I've ever known." Harry said.

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

"Oh no," Ginny said, "It's way past midnight, Mom's going to kill us if she finds out we're awake."

Fred and George rolled their eyes, but got up anyway. Ron and Harry followed while I got up, and headed for the bathroom. I changed into my most comfortable clothes and brushed my teeth, and then headed back to my room. Hermione was already changed and in bed by the time I got back.

"Belle?" Hermione enquired.

"Yeah?" I asked, getting into my own bed.

"Do you think it's possible for vampires to be wizards and witches?" She asked. I was slightly shocked, Hermione was usually the one with answers when it came to these things.

"Well, maybe, why?" I asked.

"Just wondering," She said, but I knew there was something she wasn't telling me, "I mean, you did say that the things most prominent in them gets taken into the next life, and the occasional vampire attack on a witch or wizard isn't all that uncommon. Do you think it's possible for a vampire to have magic that they've taken with them from their human lives."

"I guess." I had never thought of it that way before, but it could be true.

"You think that's why Dumbledore wanted you to recruit them?" She definitely knew something.

I paused, and then said, "Yes."

That's pretty much where our conversation ended. After that I quickly slipped off into sleep. And no, I didn't dream of Edward. At least, I don't think so, I hardly ever remember such things.

...

_**A/N: I think this might be the fastest I've ever updated. Not many reviews, but thank you to those who did review, and thank you to those followed and favorited. It's much appreciated.**_

_**I hope you liked this chapter, and I hope you stick around for the next one.**_

_**Until then, Review. 'Till next time, I guess.**_


	3. Technical Difficulty

**The Things That Isabelle Black Puts Up With**

**The Technical Difficulties:**

I felt the warm sunlight on my face. I opened my eyes, puzzled, it was never this sunny in Forks. I looked at the ceiling, that was not my room in Forks' ceiling, that was my room in the Burrow's ceiling. That's when it all came flooding back to me, I was no longer in Forks, I had come to the Burrow last night.

Glee swept over me. I was back in my old life. No more secrets. No more pretenses. No more lies. No more troubled, handsome, sparkly in the sunlight vampire who follows me around everywhere because he thinks I'll get into some life-threatening catastrophe - which I probably will either way - if there isn't someone their to protect me, and then dumps me in a forest after saying he never cared for me.

I'M FREE!

And hungry. Good thing I don't have muggle school anymore, the only thing I'd be able to make in that span of time was a bowl of stale, tasteless cereal.

The smell of bacon, toast, and eggs caught me, making my mouth water. I always liked to say that the only Love at First Sight is the one that has food involved.

I got ready, and then headed down the stairs, still half-asleep. Hermione and Ginny were already there.

"Ah, Belle," Mrs. Weasley said from the stove, "We're all about to have breakfast, mind calling the boys?"

"No way." Ginny said. She loved waking people up too early for their liking. I sometimes wondered if it was payback for all those times she was woken up too early.

We all ran back up the stairs, well, they did. I was still half asleep. I heard Ginny yell, 'WAKE UP', and Hermione telling her to quiet down. I heard the groans of dissatisfaction after something that sounded like water hit something - or someone.

Home sweet home.

I walked into the room to see two very angry, very wet young wizards. Well, Ron looked pretty angry, Harry was just shocked and a bit amused. I admired their strength to keep calm, if someone did that to me, they'd be hanging by one foot in the garden by now. Oh who cares about the stupid law, I'm sixteen, that's close enough.

"Breakfast is ready." Ginny said sweetly.

"Thanks Gin." Aw. Harry gave her a nickname.

Ginny blushed slightly, nodded and left the room. Eesh, must be hard for her, falling for her brother's best friend. Too bad Harry's too much of a coward to ask her out. He might be an expert in Defense Against The Dark Arts, but he is an idiot when it came to girls.

"Little brat." Ron muttered as he got up. I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing, he was soaking wet. His red hair sticking to his face, and his face itself turning red as if it was trying to match the scarlet color of his hair. Harry wasn't much better, though his clothes were relatively dry, Ginny's got it bad, she's even toning down her wake-people-up-in-the-worst-way-possible methods for him.

"Come on Ron." Hermione said, "At least it woke you up. Now quit complaining, and get ready." Ron laid back down on his bed.

"Five more minutes." He muttered.

"Ron!" Hermione shouted. Ron jumped about a foot in the air, and quickly got out of bed, his eyes wide. I let out a snicker.

"Fine, fine," Ron said as he walked out the door while muttering something about not understanding that normal people need a good ten hours of sleep. Silly Ron, we're not normal.

Twenty minutes later we were all seated, George and Fred included though Mr. Weasley had already left.

Mrs. Weasley sat the loaded plates down. From what I remember here toast, bacon, and eggs; my personal favorite breakfast which I haven't had in so long.

"Kids, I got a letter from Dumbledore yesterday, Hogwarts has been declared safe, and all student bodies are allowed to return." Mrs. Weasley said. I noticed her smile didn't reach her eyes. Did she not want us returning to Hogwarts?

Wait. Hold on. Safe?

"Safe? What do you mean Hogwarts has been declared safe?" I turned towards my friends, and they looked at each other.

"We'll tell you . . . " Harry answered, sadly he didn't answer my question. "Later." What? But I wanna know.

Harry looked at me with piercing emerald eyes which sometimes scared me, and were the reason I never won a fight with him.

I glared at him for a moment and then sighed, and went back to my food. Harry always wins.

. ... .

We were all seated on the floor of Ron's bedroom. I looked from Ron to Harry to Hermione and back to Ron. They seemed to be having a mental battle about how to tell me what they're about to tell me in the best possible way. They probably are.

"There were some - technical difficulties." Hermione finally said.

"Technical difficulties?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I'm not naïve. I'm quite the opposite in fact. God, I've seen too much.

Harry seemed to agree, and rolled his eyes.

"A shield penetration," He clarified. "Dumbledore got tons of complaints and everyone was evacuated."

"What?" I asked shocked. "Why? If there's any place safer with Voldy running loose it's at Hogwarts with Dumbledore."

"People . . . are starting to think Dumbledore's getting a bit old."

"Rubbish!" I scoffed, "he's only like . . . what is he?"

"A hundred and fifteen give or take a few." Ron said. Huh. So that's what Edward would look like if he wasn't a vampire.

I snorted, partly from the thought of Edward with a long silver beard and half-moon spectacles, partly from Ron's answer. Hermione and Harry soon joined me, followed by Ron who had been clueless before now.

"So . . . what does the ministry think of these . . . technical difficulties." I said. Even I could hear the disgust in my voice. I hated the last minister, mostly because he was an idiot who corrupted most of the wizarding population. Ever since that little incident I have never trusted another minister.

And this is what bad leaders do to you; they make you paranoid.

They exchanged a nervous glance again, I hate when they do that, and then Hermione got up and threw something at me.

A new edition of _The Prophet._

On the front I saw a picture of Hogwarts, and a label in big letters _**"Dumbledore Finally Too Old To Protect The Children Of Hogwarts?"**_

"WHAT!" I screamed, "I thought this guy was supposed to have half a brain."

"I don't think it Scrimgeour's behind this one. It looks more like Umbridge." Hermione said, "God, I hate that woman."

"You don't really think they've given her control of _The Prophet_." I said incredulously.

"It's probable. Scrimgeour is focused on actually defeating Voldemort, what people believe doesn't really concern him." Hermione analyzed.

"But . . . that's . . . so . . ." I couldn't find the words. My mind was racing.

What would happen if they took Dumbledore out of office . . . again? The Death Eaters are getting more and more bold. If Dumbledore, the only man their leader ever feared - was removed from Hogwarts would they even hesitate to take over Hogwarts.

I shook my head.

That would be irrational, completely idiotic even for them.

"At least he's doing something." Harry said venomously. Out of all of us, Harry was the one most against the old Minister of Magic. Probably because he turned everyone against us, but also because he did absolutely nothing about Voldy. He kind of turned a blind eye, idiot, thank God he's gone.

"True." I replied.

"So . . . how are our dearly beloved professors." I asked, a bit of sarcasm lacing my tone.

"Snape's happy." Harry said darkly.

"Oh?" Odd. What could possibly make Snape happy? It's nearly impossible . . . unless, "No way."

Ron nodded, "finally got to be Defense Against The Dark Arts Professor." I groaned.

"But that's my favorite." I whined playfully.

"Better than Umbridge, that I'll give him." Harry muttered.

"Ah, creepy toad lady in pink." I said. That nickname, yeah, that was all me. I know, I'm a genius _and _creative. No, that was not sarcasm, I truly am amazing. However, I don't show off and gloat about it. No, I shan't sink down to that level. Never sink to that level. Okay maybe a little.

"Be happy you only had to deal with her for three months." Harry hated Umbridge. Harry hated Umbridge a lot. Or maybe disliked very strongly was a better description. No, no hate is a very good description.

"That bad, huh?" I asked. Harry had told me detentions were horrible. No, not by owl don't be so naive. Talking through owl mail would be way to risky. There's this power that Harry and I share. It's kind of like what the Quiluetes ability to know each other's thoughts and emotions, except we can close it off and turn it on as we wish. We also can't feel the other's emotions, though it's not that hard to figure out what Harry's feeling.

"Yes." Harry said darkly.

"So, about those detentions?" I asked.

"Harry!" Hermione scolded, she thought we shouldn't keep secrets from each other - no matter how horrible, "You didn't tell her!"

"No, of course not." Harry said it like it was an incredibly stupid thing to do - I have to say I was a little offended, "She probably would've come straight back to Hogwarts, and start swearing at Umbridge like a drunk sailor."

"I don't swear." I protested. It's true though, I don't swear. For one thing, if you refrain to using swear words it only shows that you're too stupid and unimaginitive to think up something on your own. And I am neither stupid or unimaginitive.

"Of course you don't, unless you're really, really, really mad." Harry said. I instantly remembered when I saw Dad die in Harry's thoughts - which was accidental - I had sworn a little. Thank goodness Edward hadn't been there, that wouldn't have looked too good to someone born in the early twentieth century. A girl swearing like a drunk sailor. Come to think of it, that might've been funny.

"Hey it's not my fault you people catch me at the worst times." I muttered. I bit my lip, not wanting think about the recent 'worst time'. My father's death. It had been hard. Very hard. It was two months after the whole James incident, and I had been close to getting my Firebolt out and returning to Hogwarts. I didn't though, Edward had showed up right after my little swearing incident. I had been crying, and he'd asked me what's wrong, and I silently cursed him for ruining my chance of going back. I had replied that I had been looking through my album which was conveniently placed on my bed. He hadn't seemed very convinced, but let it go anyway, telling me it was getting late and I should be going to sleep.

If I had been myself I probably would've told him not to tell me what to do. Or ask him if he was my father . . . oh the cruel irony.

But I didn't. You know why? Because I'm a dedicated actress. However they were making it very hard to stay in character.

"Not my fault you keep looking into my mind." Harry said.

"What?" I asked, incredulous. "I give you complete free will. You just are lousy at keeping your brain walled."

"I'm sorry we're not all born as Occlumens." Harry snapped.

"I wasn't born as an Occlumen." I defended, "I had a natural talent for Occlumency which Tonks and I decided to strengthen." Unlike Harry, I was skilled in Occlumency. I'm able to block most attacks on my brain, however when I came to Forks it was harder to block. Presumably because Edward's little mind power was weakening my shield - which I inherited from my mother, an uncommon gift usually found in true Occlumens. It was quite annoying having my shield be weakened, I only once experienced such a thing and it had been with Voldemort. Which creeped me out. My first thought that the people who wanted to kill me were able to tamper with my shield. Then Edward professed his apparently fake love for me, and that theory went down the drain. Stupid boy, making all my theories go down the drain.

The sound of the door opening loudly snapped us all out of reverie, "Mum and Dad are having a private conversation, want to listen in?" Fred asked.

"Well . . . it is a private conversation . . ." Hermione hesitated.

"Definitely." Ron said, and got up from his place on the floor.

"Ron!" Hermione scolded.

"What?" Ron asked, "We're their kids, we deserve to know whatever they're talking about." What brilliant logic, Ron!

"Hermione." I said in a tone that made me sound wise - or was meant to, "Sometimes it's better to just join 'em." Following through with my words of wisdom I walked after Ron and Fred.

George had the Extendable Ears ready. He gave me one, and I shoved one end under the door, putting the other one to my ear.

"I still don't like this." I heard Mrs. Weasley's voice complain.

"Dumbledore thinks it's the best way to protect them." Why do I get the feeling the 'them' they're referring to is Harry and I.

"But still . . . _them _at Hogwarts?" Mrs. Weasley complained, "I heard that one of them still had problems."

"If Dumbledore thinks they can go to Hogwarts, they can. You know Dumbledore, he would never let anything even mildly dangerous get into Hogwarts with his knowing." Mr. Weasley reassured her. I was forced to disagree with him on that one, I mean there was the Forbidden Forest which was technically part of Hogwarts. And he did let Umbridge into Hogwarts, and that woman was beyond evil.

"And Belle?" Mrs. Weasley asked, and I perked up. Why were they talking about me, and who was the other 'them'.

Mr. Weasley sighed, "she's better off not knowing for the time-being. She'll find out soon enough."

At this Mrs. Weasley chuckled, "Dumbledore will be getting an earful." Ah it's that bad, huh? Seriously, what is it!? You're killing me here!

"That he will, hope he's prepared, earplugs and all," Mr. Weasley laughed along. I am so not that bad. Mr. Weasley sighed again, "She's not going to be happy."About what? I deserve to know what's not going to make me happy.

We heard footsteps coming towards the door, and we all raced back to Ron's room as quietly as we could to find Hermione still sitting in the same place reading her Defense Against the Dark Arts Book. Does that girl ever tire?

"Interesting." Hermione whispered.

"What is?" I asked, sitting down next to her.

"It says here that vampires with special powers, like the ones you told Harry about, had most often been witches or wizards in their past life." Hermione said.

"And?" Ron asked.

"Nothing, I just find it interesting. Most of the . . . Cullens, was it, have special powers. Maybe that's why he sent Belle after them. They're more powerful than the average witch or wizard, what with their vampire powers, they could be useful when the war starts."

"I don't think so, the leader is a doctor and I'd reckon he doesn't like getting involved with wars." I said, remembering Carlisle's calm and pacifist nature.

"Just a theory." Hermione said, going back to the book, "Besides, I doubt Dumbledore would even let them enter Hogwarts, their magic is very unstable."

"Magic?" I asked, "You mean they still have it?"

"Yes, but it's hidden. If it is to be unleashed they would need to be put to training immediately." Hermione answered, eyes never leaving a book.

We were all silent until I said, "Well . . . that explains a lot."

"Hey guys, you want to play Quidditch." Ginny poked her head through the door, her eyes lit with excitement. I wasted no time answering her.

"Definitely, I am so out of shape."

"I'm in." Harry said. The others, with the exception of Hermione, nodded vigorously.

"'Kay, meet you in five." Ginny said, and then disappeared through the door.

Even though Ginny was the youngest of all of us, she was often the most mature out of all here siblings . . . and me.

What! Someone needs to lighten up the world in these Dark Times, might as well be the twins and I.

. . . . . . . . . .

"Okay. Harry, Ron, and Belle," Why do we always let the twins choose again? "You two will be on one team. Me, George, and Gin will be on the other."

"'And I'" Ginny corrected, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Sorry, what?" Fred asked.

"It's George, Gin, and I; not Me, George and Gin." Ginny clarified.

"I shall write it down in my mental notebook." Fred said in a business-like tone.

"Which one?" George asked, a crooked smile on his face. No, not an Edward crooked smile, those things are inhuman to the point of creepiness.

"The one that has 'Ginny's Grammar Lessons' written on the front."

"Ah, that one's getting bigger everyday." George said in an understanding tone. Ginny just rolls her eyes, and took her broom from the sidelines.

The game begun, and went on as it usually does. Ron calling the twins out on their cheating antics, Hermione rolling her eyes at Ron's defensiveness, Ginny facepalming every time the twins cheated and Ron yelled . . . or one of us did something stupid - with the exception of Harry who just got an amused shake of the head.

By the end no one actually remembered the score, and Hermione just told us to call it a tie . . . and no one defies the mighty Hermione.

"How long have we been out here, exactly?" I asked as I looked up at the crescent moon.

"About five hours." Ron replied.

See? This is a creative and fun sport. Way better than vampire baseball. Honestly, couldn't they figure out some awesome vampire sport? No, obviously not, they had to copy of the muggles.

"I'm bushed, I think I'll go to bed." I said, exhausted. It was probably around eight when I got into bed, and I still felt absolutely exhausted. God, I'm out of shape. Practically six months of next to no real physical activity does that to you.

"We'll be getting an early wake-up call for school, knowing mum. So get as much sleep as you can." Ginny said as she and Hermione walked into the room.

"Oh I can hardly wait." I said in a very enthusiastic, very fake voice.

"I'm sure you're just bubbling with excitement." Ginny added sarcastically.

"But of course. I simply _love _being woken up before dawn." I said.

"Good night."

"'Night, Mum." I said, I could practically hear her rolling her eyes at me. Hermione laughed at our 'immature' behavior.

"'Night guys." Hermione said.

"'Night Hermione!" We both shouted.

This is the life. Quidditch, good food, awesome friends, and a lunatic evil wizard out to kill me. Yep, it doesn't get any better than this. And really the evil wizard is just a minor technical difficulty after you think about it.

. . . ... . . .

_**A/N: Done! This is still an early update for me. I'm going to thank the people who reviewed and favorited and followed. Thank, it means a lot to me to know that people like my stories. Anyway, favorite character? **_

_**Until next time. Which will hopefully be within the next two weeks.**_


	4. New Professors

**The Things Isabelle Black Puts Up With:**

**Chapter 4**

"Come on, girls. It's time to wake up. The train waits for no one," Mrs. Weasley said.

"Except for the conducter," I muttered. She opened the curtains, and the sun came shining through the window . . . a bit too brightly might I add. So brightly in fact, that I fell out of my bed.

"Belle, are you alright?" Mrs. Weasley asked, motherly instincts kicking in. Where were they when she was throwing the curtains open.

"Right as rain," I said, giving her a thumbs-up from where I lay on the ground.

"Well, get ready, we leave in two hours," She said, and left the room.

Hermione started laughing, and I glared at her.

"I've forgotten how jumpy you are," Hermione said in between giggles.

"It's the stress," I protested. "I've been through a lot of traumatic experiences. I'm allowed to be a bit jumpy."

"You fell out of your bed, because of a little sunlight." She smirked, and sat up in her bed.

"Need I remind you, that I've been living in a town that is under an omnipresent cover of clouds for the last six months. A little sunlight is too much sunlight at the moment." I said. Hermione just rolled her eyes at me, and left the room.

. . . . . . . . .

From that point there isn't much to tell - or remember - so I'll just skip a couple hours later.

_**10:45.**_

_With fifteen minutes to spare_, I thought contently. After a little accident in second year I have never shown up later than 10:50 at the platform.

We had met up with Tonks and Remus before we stepped through the wall . . . that just made us sound like ghosts. Tonks decided to join us, but Remus stayed behind.

"Now," Tonks said, flashing into stereotypical mother mode. "Stay safe, play nice with the other kids, and _don't_ under any circumstances fight with anyone - unless the start it, then you have to kick their sorry little as -"

"Tonks!" Mrs. Weasley scolded as she fixed the scarf of a protesting Ginny.

"Sorry Molly," She turned back to me. "Butts. Kick their sorry little butts."

I saluted, "Will do, Captain Tonks."

"Ooh, Captain Tonks I like that," Tonks said in a thoughtful tone.

"Don't get used to it until you actually get it."

"Of course not, Miss Black."

"Miss Black is my mother, I'm Belle," I corrected.

"Right," Tonks said, she got a thoughtful expression on her face again as if deciding what to say next. "Belle. Whatever you do, don't kill the new professors . . . or try to."

"What?"

"Bye," She said, and then vanished in the crowd.

"Tonks!" I yelled. New professors, new professors, what professors are you all talking about? There are things I need to know about. Who are these people, and why would I want to kill them. Oh my god, did Lucius and Narcissa get into the school? No, not only would Dumbledore disagree with that, their beloved Draco would never let them teach at his school. But then who? Bellatrix? Heehee, yeah right.

"Belle, come on. The train's about to leave," Hermione called.

"'Kay!" I yelled back, and picked up my suitcase and getting onto the familiar train. The interior was as impeccably clean as always, and the air smelled of peppermint and chocolate.

Harry, Hermione, Ron, and I took our seats. I told them what Tonks said about the new professors.

"And?" Harry asked, "Any ideas on who they might be?"

"None," Well I do, but they're just really irrational.

"Well, I suppose we'll just have to wait and see," How can she be so patient! Surely she's actually boiling over with anticipation on the inside.

"I hate waiting," I muttered under my breath. And then it hit me, Hermione knew. She knew who these professors were, but she wasn't telling us. She probably won't _be_ telling us.

The thing I hate more than waiting; not knowing, and knowing full well someone else knows.

"They can't be worse than Umbridge, can they?" Ron added.

"No, they can't," Hermione confirmed. Oh she knew something, she definitely knew something.

. . . . . . ... . . . . . .

We were finally at Hogwarts. Well, in front of Hogwarts. Ginny, Luna, and Neville had joined us a while ago. It was good to see Luna and Neville again, I had missed Luna's eccentric ways and Neville was probably the only person I could be clumsy with and not made fun of; mostly because he knows what it feels like.

"Oh, I'm so excited," I said in a joking manner, clapping my hands. A black cat ran toward me, "Periwinkle!" Don't ask, I don't know why I named her that. I got her on my eleventh birthday, she's been with me ever since. Except for that time in Forks. I had to leave her with Dumbledore, because she'd be too easily noticed with her indigo eyes. Yes, indigo, isn't that awesome!

"Potter, Black . . . and company," Said a snide voice. Ooh, it's my cousin from the underworld. We turned around. Harry glared. Hermione glared. Ginny glared. Luna smiled. Neville tried not to make eye contact. And I . . . I was grinning like a maniac. What? I absolutely _love _my demon cousin . . . or love to tease him because he is my cousin, but doesn't like it.

"Malfoy . . . and company," I mocked, looking pointedly at his crew. Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy Parkingson. I think, ot was it Parkinson. God, I'm bad at names. I've known this girl since first year - sort of.

"Thought you would remember the names of so few people, Black," Malfoy smirked. Hypocrite.

"Well, you know me, I'm bad with names. It must run in the family," I said, waving his insult off.

He glared, catching on to my comeback, and said, "It must." And then they walked around us, and walked inside. I had noticed something though. Something that slightly worried me. Draco looked horrible, his face had taken on a grey shade and there were purple shadows under his eyes like he hadn't been sleeping much. And his reaction to my obvious insult, it was so . . . un-draco-like.

"He looks . . ." I started.

"Different?" Hermione asked.

"Horrible," I said.

"He's turning into one of _the_," Harry said with disgust in his voice. And I knew who _them _was; The Death Eaters.

"Really, Harry. He is technically just a kid," I said.

"Well, just look at him," He said.

"I did." I said, starting to worry my brother-figure was turning paranoid, "He looks like he's been having sometrouble sleeping. We can't blame him for that, especially with his parents being crazed Death Eaters."

"Come now, all of you," Professor McGonagall said in a scolding tone. "You musn't dawdle."

"Sorry, professor," I said, and we all followed her inside.

We walked into the Great Hall, and sat down at the Gryffindor table. I looked up to the the Staff Table where all the teachers sat, but no new faces appeared except for that of Professor Slughorn, who had been here since the start of school year according to Harry.

I looked at Dumbledore, who was grinning like mad. He was either very excited about the new school year or the new professors were another couple of his old friends. Great. And they're late too, _what dedication_.

Dumbledore stepped up to the podium, he raised his hands and said, "Welcome back beloved students." With some exceptions, "On behalf of the the staff and myself I would like to apologize." Blablabla.

_Bam!_

The double doors slammed open, everyone turned around.

And there they were in all their pale glory. Their outfits all impeccably perfect for their roles, and their faces perfect as always. I looked at Dumbledore, he smiled at me knowingly, he planned this. He planned all of this. I thought I was perfectly clear when I showed up here perfectly content with how fate had taken the Cullens out of my life. Didn't he know people shouldn't mess with fate?

_You've got to be kidding me._

Dumbledore stepped down from the podium, and hugged Carlisle like they were besties. _Oh god._

The others - minus Esme - just stood there, their faces absolutely clean of all emotions except for the _I really don't want to be here _look. They hid behind smiles though, typical. Periwinkle hissed at them. Smart kitty, already knows that they're her natural enemy.

"Students, I would like to introduce you all to the Cullens, your new professors," Everyone clapped at Dumbledore's announcement. "Dr. Carlisle Cullen is an old friend of mine." Old, _old _friend. "They were passing by, and I told them that I'm in need of a few more professors at Hogwarts." No you're not, "They kindly agreed to help," Oh goody. "Professor Esme Cullen has decided to take over _Study Of Ancient Runes _so Professor Babbling could finally go off on a much-needed vacation. Professor Rosalie Hale will be taking over first year Charms while Professor Emmet Cullen," _Professor _Emmet Cullen?

"Will be teaching Muggle Studies. Dr. Cullen will be starting an elective course for seventh years and will be helping Madame Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing. Professor Alice Cullen will be teaching all honors divination." Safe! Just two more to go. "And finally, Professor Edward Cullen and Professor Jasper Hale will be teaching Defense Against The Dark Arts for all our Sixth and Seventh Years." I pushed away my food carefully, and then banged my head against the table. _Shit!_ Excuse my language.

"Belle, are you okay?" Hermione asked cautiously.

"Brilliant," I said.

"They are your vampires aren't they," She stated more than asked.

"Yes," I muttered.

"Then why are you so scared?"

"I'm not scared, just worried."

"Why?"

"Because they have an exceedingly good sense of smell, and I doubt I smell any different than I did in Forks, and now they will kill me."

"Why?"

"Because I'm supposed to still be in America," I muttered. "I'm supposed to still be grieving over the loss of my vampiric companions. Now, what do you think they'll act like when they find out I was only 'friends' with them because I wanted to corrupt them and get them on our side, that I was totally and completely toying with them, using them for my own purposes."

Hermione looked at me like I was having a mental breakdown, "Aren't they vegetarians."

"Yeah," I said.

"Then you should have nothing to fear, I'm sure they'll understand," Hermione said.

"I guess, but I'm not talking to them unless I have to."

"You'll have to." She said in a much too confident voice.

The rest of dinner/supper went smoothly. Me anxiety had soon worn off, and I decided that I wouldn't let a couple of vampires ruin my year. I mean, it's not like I care about them anyway.

Why must I always be wrong?

_**A/N: Chapter 4, and isn't it wonderful. Everyone's together again, and Belle is not very happy about it. Drama and hilarity ensues. So . . . any thoughts?**_

_**Until next time. Please review. **_


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